BELVIDERE — A negotiating firm plans to generate tens of thousands of dollars in new revenue for the Boone County jail without changing day-to-day operations.

The Summerill Group, LLC will negotiate with the U.S. Marshals Service the amount that the Boone County Sheriff’s Office is paid for housing and transporting federal prisoners. Joseph Summerill, managing principal of the agency, said in a contract a preliminary analysis indicated that the county could increase its per diem from $65 per inmate per day to $79.12.

If the average daily federal prisoner count remains at 18, the new rate would generate an additional $92,000 in revenue annually, boosting the county’s total revenue from federal prisoner housing to $519,000.

“We have so many revenues that never recovered from the recession. This is a way to get nontraditional revenue in the system,” County Administrator Ken Terrinoni said.

The Boone County Board agreed Nov. 20 to pay Summerill $40,000 to negotiate a deal — $20,000 up front and an additional $20,000 once both the U.S. Marshals Service and County Board agree to a contract. The deal was contingent upon favorable experiences from past clients, which Terrinoni said Monday were positive.

County officials were willing to risk the initial $20,000 during a lean budget year. The County Board passed a balanced budget Nov. 20 but leaders were prevented from purchasing new squad cars and hiring an additional public defender.

There isn’t a set timeline for when negotiations will end but previous Summerill clients said it takes four to six months of discussion before inking a deal, Terrinoni said. The county has submitted expense sheets detailing the cost of personnel, food, medicine and depreciating building to the agency to get the ball rolling.

Jail Supervisor Lt. John Hare said the jail has capacity for up to 150 prisoners but because of current staffing, only 130 beds can be used. The county would have to hire an additional four correction officers to allow the jail to be used at maximum capacity.

“It’s because of the environment they are in and to ensure the safety and security of facility,” Hare said.